Oakland: Two adults, one juvenile arrested in connection with killing of teenage best friends

OAKLAND -- Two adults and a juvenile have been arrested in connection with the killings of 15-year-old Raquel Gerstel and 16-year-old Bobbie Sartain, law enforcement sources confirmed Saturday.

No one has been formally charged, sources said, but one suspect did make admissions connecting the trio to the brutal early morning shooting Nov. 25 near Brookdale Park that left the teenage best friends dead in the street. The callous killing outraged the community.

Law enforcement officials added that one of the suspects already had been in custody on a crime unrelated to the shootings.

No other details were provided.

Gerstel's father confirmed there had been "good news" in the case, but has been asked to refrain from further comment by investigators.

The girls were found around 6 a.m. on Nov. 25, lying on the asphalt in the 2600 block of Minna Avenue near Brookdale Park, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. They clung to life as neighbors held their hands and waited for paramedics to arrive.

It is still unclear what the girls were doing before they were killed, but family members said they stopped by a mobile home that belongs to Bobbie's uncle at High Street and MacArthur Boulevard before they reportedly walked to a nearby Union 76 gas station.

Authorities had said the two girls had been friends for years after meeting in Alameda, where Raquel was raised before moving to San Leandro.